Suddenly David
by jekyllhj7
Summary: Kurt goes through school, hitting barriers all the way, but there's always someone there to help.  Inspired by the LJ stuff and the Little Shop of Horrors Song.
1. 1 Kindergarten

**Suddenly David**

**A/N – With the 'Suddenly Karofsky" stuff on LJ, the song Suddenly Seymour kept popping into my head. I am usually a very visual person and since youtube seems intent on not allowing any glee videos from me, I'll have to make do here. (Plus there aren't nearly enough scenes to do what I want) Hopefully this comes out has I picture it in my head.**

_Lift up your head, wash off your mascara. Here, take my Kleenex, wipe that lipstick away. Show me your face, clean as the mornin', I know things were bad, but now they're okay. _

Five year old Kurt Hummel enjoyed school for the most part. He liked learning his alphabet. He really enjoyed coloring and crafts. And until one afternoon, he thoroughly enjoyed free time. Most of the boys went to play on the playground equipment. Kurt often stayed behind with the girls and played house or dress up. It was during that fateful afternoon when the fact that he was truly different, was first introduced to him.

He was with the girls just outside the kindergarten door playing with the sparkle fairy wands and the tiaras, when he felt a violent shove from behind. He caught himself so he avoided landing face first on the blacktop. He turned around to see who had pushed him, and through the tears of shock and hurt welling up in his eyes, he saw a dark skinned first grader staring down at him.

"Fag." The boy practically spat at him.

Kurt didn't really know the meaning of the word, but he knew it was not a term of endearment.

"Faggy little priss has been contaminated by cooties playing with the girls." The boy continued looming over Kurt. "And now he's gonna cry. Go ahead, cry like a girl."

The tears that had been threatening to fall now slid down Kurt's face. He didn't even know what he had done to this boy.

Suddenly, another first grade boy came over from the jungle gym. "Hey, Azimo. Leave him alone. It's almost time to go back inside."

The dark skinned boy backed off. "See ya later crybaby." He turned and headed back to the rest of the first graders.

The other first grade boy helped Kurt up and brushed the leaves off his sweater. "Are you okay? Sorry about him. "He said motioning to the other boy. He handed Kurt a napkin to wipe his tear stained face. They stood in silence for a moment before the bell rang, announcing it was time to go back inside.

Just before he turned away, the boy held out his hand. "My name is Dave, by the way."


	2. 2  Grammar School

**Suddenly David**

**A/N – FYI: I'm not going to do EVERY grade. **

**Grammar School**

_Nobody ever treated me kindly. Daddy left early, mama was poor. I'd meet a man and I'd follow him blindly. He'd snap his fingers. Me, I'd say "sure"_

After kindergarten, Kurt learned the hard way to stay away from the playground during free time. He stayed inside with the teachers as much as he could. There were always boys waiting to taunt him for reasons ranging from the clothes he was wearing, to the food he brought for lunch, even to how he spoke. Dave did his best to keep the tormentors at bay, but he wasn't always able to prevent the attacks. The boys always seemed to know when the monitors weren't looking and would pounce.

He tried to talk to his parents. But his father was taking on extra time at the garage. His mother was always sleeping. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer when he was 7. She was exhausted from the treatment so he didn't want to burden her (or his father) with what could be seen as normal school troubles. So he went to school each day and managed the best he could.

One spring afternoon in third grade, he had been forced outside by one of the teachers. "You can't stay inside on such a beautiful day." So he had positioned himself on a bench right outside the door with a magazine.

"Hey Kurt." He looked up to see one of the other boys in his class standing in front of him. Finn, his name was. "We need another player for the game to make the sides even."

"You don't want me." Kurt shook his head. Everyone knew he wasn't good at sports. He didn't mind being picked last in phys ed.

Finn shuffled as if he was nervous or something. "Well, not really. But we're kind of out of guys. At least you would make the numbers even. "

Kurt sighed and put his magazine down. Maybe if the teachers saw him playing with the other kids, they'd let him stay inside tomorrow. He followed Finn to the side of the playground where the other kids were gathered. He knew at once something was wrong. First there were no balls and all the other guys were lined up facing him. The first egg hit him square in the chest.

Instead of going back to his classroom when the bell rang. Kurt ran to the boy's bathroom. He took off what amounted to be his ruined sweater and tried washing the egg out of his hair.

"Don't use hot water. It'll cook the egg and make it hard to get out." Suddenly a voice came from behind him. Because of the running water, Kurt hadn't heard the tell-tale squeak of the door opening. He looked up to see Dave standing just inside the doorway. "I wish I could have been there to help you. But Mrs. King kept me inside cuz I hadn't finished my book report."

"It's okay." Kurt said. Taking the paper towels Dave had rolled out of the machine. "You can't be there all the time."

Picking up the egg-encrusted sweater, Dave smiled ruefully. "It was a really nice sweater."


	3. 3 Junior High School

Junior High School

**A/N – I'm trying to get to a good stopping point since I'm not sure what I'll be able to get done the next few days with the holiday. **

_Suddenly Seymour is standing beside me. He don't give me orders, he don't condescend.  
Suddenly Seymour is here to provide me sweet understanding, Seymour's my friend._

Kurt walked up the steps to Kennedy Junior High School. He was both looking forward to and dreading this day. On one side, he was looking for a new start. In the middle of sixth grade, his mother had finally succumbed to her battle with cancer. He had felt bad because he wasn't as sad as he thought he should have been. She had been sick for so many years, it was almost a relief.

Also for the whole year, he hadn't had to deal with Azimo's constant bullying since he and his cronies had moved up to the junior high school. The flip side of it was that he was without Dave for a whole year too. It wasn't as if he was friends with the older boy. It was just that Dave always seemed to be there when Kurt needed him.

So he stepped through the glass doors into the school. Looking around he instantly figured out why seventh and eighth grades were often singled out and put in a separate school. It was insane. As soon as he turned the corner out of the main lobby, a stabbing pain of cold hit him in the face. There stood Azimo holding an empty slushie cup.

"Didja miss me, fag?"

Glad he arrived a bit early and had decided to wear a jacket; Kurt found the men's room and proceeded to clean himself up.

"Sorry about that. At least it didn't get on your clothes."

Kurt spun around to see Dave leaning against the door jam. The older boy had grown quite a bit in the past year. He had also begun to fill out.

And so the days, weeks and months passed. On Dave's advice, Kurt made sure he usually had some kind of jacket on when he came to school in the morning. At least, he'd only have to deal with Azimo for a single year, Kurt thought; knowing the older boys would be starting high school.

Eighth grade passed in relative calm. He could safely come to school in his designer clothes without fear of being slushied, or worse, shoved into the dumpster. He joined the school choir and drama club and was actually looking forward to going to McKinley High next year.

It was a warm August evening and Kurt was walking home from Mercedes' house. Suddenly a large figure loomed in front of him. He looked up and saw Dave standing in his path. The older boy was wearing a McKinley High letterman jacket and was much more menacing than Kurt had remembered him to be.

"I just wanted to let you know to watch out for yourself at McKinley. I don't think I can help you anymore." Without another word, the older boy turned and walked away.

**A/N - If you didn't realize it. The lyrics are meant to be not as genuine for this chapter. Yeah… kind of a nasty place to leave it. Hopefully I can start on McKinley before Christmas. **


	4. 4 High School

**High School**

**A/N – Sorry it's been a while. I got caught up with Christmas and a snow storm. Plus I've been kind of bummed with some of the spoilers I've heard – confrontation…. Blaine becoming a regular character (I've never liked him, plus it shows a possible storyline I am not happy with), the idea that they might deal with gay suicide. (Hell if that happens, don't know if I'll be a fan of the show after that)**

**Anyhoo, there will be one more chapter after this one – I'm not one for long, drawn out stories**.

_Tell me this feelin'll last till forever. Tell me the bad times are clean washed away_

Kurt stepped into the main lobby of William McKinley High School. Freshman year… a new start. Then it hit him. As he wiped the slushie out of his face the familiar figure of Azimo came into view. The shock came a few seconds later when he saw Dave Karofsky standing right beside the bully. Kurt stared at the older boy whom he had always seen as his protector and all he got in return was an icy stare.

And so it began. The bullying was worse than it had been in grammar school or middle school. It became much more physical since the guys were all bigger. He refused to give in. After all these years, he had finally come to terms with who he was and he was proud of it. He just made sure he always had a jacket or a spare outfit with him every day.

The one bright spot in his life was glee. Mr. Shuester started it up again. Yeah, it was only a few kids and Rachel Berry was more than annoying, but he could sing to his heart's content. Of course it also gave the bullies yet another reason to torment him.

Sophomore year was more of the same. He had officially come out to his dad, despite the fact that Burt said he had known since Kurt was three. The glee club had grown and it even included some football players. At first Kurt had hoped they would help with the bullying, but it turned out that they wound up getting slushied too.

Just after classes ended, Kurt was walking down the hallway to collect his things from his locker. He was shocked when his phone was suddenly slapped away from his hand just in time to see Karofsky shove him into his locker. Yes… he no longer thought of the older boy as 'Dave'. Dave had been his friend… his protector. Karofsky was a bully.

All the anger and frustration that had been building up since kindergarten finally came to the surface. Kurt got up and ran after the older boy. He cornered Karofsky in the boy's locker room. He found himself ranting at the older boy, not entirely sure of what words were coming out of his mouth. He knew he had hit some kind of nerve when Karofsky raised his fist. For a moment Kurt thought the bully would actually punch him.

Suddenly, Karofsky kissed him.

**A/N - Yeah I've left out Blaine and I will not be mentioning Dalton because in my little world, they don't exist. ;-)**


	5. 5 High School Part 2

High School – Part 2

**A/N – This is it. It took me a while because although I knew where I wanted to go, I had a little trouble figuring out how to get there. Gonna be a happy ending since I don't think I'm going to get one on the show. Thanks for all the favorites, alerts and reviews. And yeah, I inserted the 'correct' name in the lyrics line. :-D **

_Suddenly (David), he purified me. Suddenly (David), he showed me I can learn how to be more. With sweet understanding, (David)'s my man._

More out of shock than anything else, Kurt pushed the older boy away. There was a mix of surprise, longing, and amazingly, fear in Karofsky's eyes. The jock slammed his fists into the lockers with a yelp of frustration and fled the room.

Kurt's brain worked quickly to clear the shock. He couldn't let Dave (yes, the boy that had just kissed him was not the bully that had been tormenting him for the past two years, it was the boy who had been his protector for so many years) just walk away after what had happened. Pushing through the still swinging door into the hallway, Kurt looked both ways trying to figure out which way Dave had gone. An upended trash can down the hallway to his right seemed a sign of the most logical direction.

Heading down the now empty hall, he followed a trail of would be destruction until he reached one of the exits of the school. He looked through the glass doors into the nearly empty parking lot. Figuring Dave couldn't have left the building he began to retrace his steps. He stopped outside one of the boy's bathrooms. It was rarely used due to its distance from anything worthwhile. Cautiously he pushed open the door and saw Dave leaning over one of the sinks taking deep breaths and splashing water on his face.

Kurt grabbed a couple of paper towels from the dispenser by the door. "Are you okay?" he asked the older boy as he handed Dave the towels.

Dave took the towels and dried off his face. "I should be the one asking you that. " He turned to look at Kurt. "But you don't need me to protect you anymore. You're the brave one now."

Kurt scoffed. "Yeah right. I'm the one everyone goes after."

"I'm serious. Look at me." He held out his hands. "Look at what I've become because I didn't have the courage to be myself. Hell I didn't even have to courage to be your friend anymore."

Before Kurt could respond, David stepped past him. He paused briefly at the door. "Don't worry. I won't let them hurt you anymore." Then he was gone.

**A/N - Not sure about this one. I had really intended to end it here and wrap things up. But Dave doesn't seem to want it to end. So I guess there'll be more. **


	6. 6 After High School

**Suddenly David**

_**After High School**_

**A/N – Okay this is it. It may not end like everyone wants, but I like this ending. It may seem like there's not much Dave in this chapter, but… wait for it…. :-D**

**I also have to say that I am optimistic about Dave's future in the show after reading an interview with Ryan Murphy. He said they have gotten permission to use Lady Gaga's song "Born this Way" and a Dave-centric episode will revolve around that song. Also he said that while Dave's character could possible turn to booze or pills or even suicide, he says he likes the character and Max and would like him to have a happy ending!**

_Suddenly Seymour, he purified you. Suddenly Seymour, Yes you can learn how to be more the girl that's inside you. With sweet understanding Seymour's your man._

Kurt's senior year in high school had been oddly peaceful. Azimo and the other jocks who really bothered him had amazingly graduated. But also Dave had left too. Kurt had heard he had been offered a full hockey scholarship.

He hadn't really seen much of Dave since that day in the boy's bathroom. The older boy had made himself scarce. But it seemed that Dave had kept his word. He didn't know what the older boy had done, but he hadn't been touched for the rest of his junior year.

Glee was going very well. After coming in second at last year's nationals, they knew they really stood a chance this year. And for the core gleeks this was their final chance to win. They were also excited because nationals were being held in Chicago this year, meaning all their friends and families could be there to see them.

Working hard all fall, they breezed through sectionals in December and then regionals in March. Finally they were down to the wire. Mr. Schuester had (with the gang's blessing) decided to go back to the beginning and make 'Don't Stop Believing' their key number.

New Directions arrived in Chicago ready and expecting to win. They weren't cocky about it though. They knew their competition was good as well.

It was right before their set ended when Kurt saw him. All through their performance, he was sneaking glances at the audience trying to locate his father and Carole, but instead his eyes landed on Dave Karofsky. In the brief seconds that Kurt had to gaze at the older boy, he was able to see the wide smile on Dave's face. When their number ended Dave was one of the first in the audience to stand up clapping.

Once offstage, Kurt quickly returned to the dressing room to change out of his costume. He wound his way through the crowds of people to the lobby of the University of Chicago auditorium building. He couldn't pick out any one person. It was maddening. Then suddenly he heard that familiar voice.

"Hey, Hummel!"

He turned to see the smiling face of Dave Karofsky making his way through the crowd and waving. Just before he reached Kurt, the younger boy could have sworn he had been holding the hand of the guy he was with.

"Great set. I love that song. Yeah, it's kind of old and cheesy, but sometimes you need that extra push in life, right?" Dave said smiling after releasing Kurt from a brief hug.

Kurt was speechless. Dave seemed happier than Kurt had seen him in years, if ever.

"When I heard that the Show Choir Nationals were going to be here, I knew I had to try to meet up with you." Dave said, speaking so quickly he was almost stumbling over the words. "When I came to college, things changed so much. Partly because of it being a new place… a new start, but also because of you. I wanted to thank you, but an email or letter or whatever just didn't seem right."

A confused smile came across Kurt's face. "Ummm, you're welcome, but what did I do?"

"You gave me the courage to be who I really am."

Kurt's eyes drifted to the young man standing next to Dave. He was tall with a wiry build and had dark blonde hair. Looking back to Dave, Kurt spoke. "You mean?"

Dave grinned sheepishly. "Yep." He took the hand of the man next to him. "Kurt, this is Seymour. My boyfriend."

END

**A/N - Yep, that's it! Sorry it didn't turn out to be full on Kurtofsky. Think is… I am coming to realize that with their history I don't know if Kurt and Dave could really be together as anything more than friends. (Feel free to prove me wrong Ryan Murphy!) But I really love Dave (possibly more than Kurt) and I wanted him to be happy.**


End file.
